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Steps to Becoming A Partner In Your Child's Education
by David Drayfirth
http://www.fseducation.com
One of the ideas that has risen to renewed popularity in the
last few decades is the concept of parents and teachers
being partners in the education of children. It's an idea
with a great deal of merit. After all, you share a common
interest - the best possible education for your child.
Around the common, other small groups of children and
parents were also at work, stretching yarn from tree to
tree, outlining paths with lengths of ribbon and measuring
distances. The occasion was a field trip with my son's 5th
grade class. The purpose was to survey the city common as a
starting point for a new blueprint the class was creating.
The end result of that icy morning was a proposal to be
submitted to the City Council's Planning Committee, and the
adoption of several of the suggestions made by the class in
the design of the new Common.
Sometimes the hardest thing in deciding to become a true
partner in your child's education is the tricky balancing
act between your knowing your child 'better than anyone' and
the teacher's expertise in teaching and classroom
management. Far too often, the attempt by parents and
teachers to defend their own territory ends up creating an
adversarial position between them.
All too often, parents and teachers lined up in camps on
opposite sides with regards to the children when both sets
of interested parties had the same goal - to help each child
achieve as much as possible in school. Instead of working
together, both parents and teachers tried to work in spite
of each other.
If you're interested in becoming a more active partner in
your child's education, these simple hints can help you take
the first step toward a good, working partnership with your
child's teacher.
And yet, the benefits to students are clear. Children whose
parents are involved - who help with homework, volunteer in
the classroom, meet and communicate with teachers, and ask
important questions - enjoy school more and learn more than
their peers whose parents are not involved. If your
relationship with your child's teacher has been more
adversarial than cooperative, there are some clear cut step
that you can take to improve that relationship and move
toward being a partner in your child's education.
If you're not sure where to start, the following tips may
help you prepare to become a true partner in getting your
child the best education possible for him or her.
Some specific questions that might concern you are: Why does
my child have so much homework? Why doesn't my child ever
have homework? Do you have any concerns about my child's
abilities or behaviors?
3. Keep the lines of communication open. You might ask to
arrange a weekly ten minute phone call just to catch up, or
request to be notified whenever your child misses a homework
assignment. In return, you can make a point of informing the
teacher of important or unusual events that might reflect in
classroom behavior.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that your child
splits his day between home and school. It's to his benefit
if all the adults that have charge of him over the course of
a day are on the same page and working together.
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